Milton Bradley

Update September 20, 2009

The saga continues for Milton Bradley as it was announced today that Jim Henry suspended Bradley for the remainder of the season. The action was taken following a published interview where Bradley again voiced his displeasure with his situation. It appears quite evident that we have seen the last of Milton Bradley in a Chicago Cubs uniform. The only question is how much is going to cost the organization.

From this fans perspective I won't miss him. This is worse than the Michael Barrett situation. One teammate can ruin many things for the team. Please get Mark DeRosa back. *******************************************************

Milton Bradley is the newest of the big money players that Jim Hendry of the Chicago Cub’s front office signed before the start of the 2009 season. Bradley signed a 3 year $30 million contract. So what do we get for all that money?

Milton Bradley comes with a reputation. Some bad, some good. The Chicago Cubs are his seventh team since he joined the Montreal Expos July of 2000. He has a temper that has gotten him in trouble. He had a problem with the Cleveland Indians manager and was traded to the Los Angles Dodgers. While with the Padres he had to be restrained by his manager from going after first base umpire Mike Winters. And while with the Texas Rangers he again had to be restrained from going after a broadcaster of the Kansas City Royals after things that were said on the air.

But that is not what worries me. These incidences are not all without merit and at times not all his doing. Milton Bradley is a very competitive ball player. And even though this year in Chicago he had a run in with the home plate umpire after being called out on strikes I don't think this is going to be an issue. It is his durability. Milton Bradley has already been out with a groin injury. He had been on the disabled list 12 times in his career. The most he has played in a season are 141 games with the Dodgers in 2004 and 115 games with the Rangers in 2008. Every other year he has not played in more than 96 games in a season.

While that is a concern it needs to be mentioned that when he does play his numbers are the reason he was signed. Projected based on a full season he is more than capable of hitting 30 home runs and driving in 100 runs. He has the talent. He has the skills. He has passion to play this game.

As far as playing right field that may be a challenge, as it is for anyone playing right field at Wrigley Field. I don't see him as a gold glove player, and he doesn't have the best arm. But he will be able to handle it as good as anyone can expect and he is going to give it his best. He is not going to be lackadaisical, he is going to make ever catch that he can get to and he is not going to make stupid errors. He will make errors but he is not going to be a liability. And one more thing. There may be controversy regarding him, but from what I hear and read, he is a well liked player in the club house. He is not a fan of the media and it doesn't appear the media has any love for him. So sometimes things get blown out of proportion. Let's see if he can stay healthy and go from there.